U.S. patent application number 12/760301 was filed with the patent office on 2011-09-01 for network device with uninterruptible power supply function.
This patent application is currently assigned to Connection Technology Systems Inc.. Invention is credited to YU-HSIN CHEN, Wei-Ping Yang.
Application Number | 20110211833 12/760301 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44475170 |
Filed Date | 2011-09-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110211833 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHEN; YU-HSIN ; et
al. |
September 1, 2011 |
NETWORK DEVICE WITH UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLY FUNCTION
Abstract
A network device with an uninterruptible power supply function
is provided. The network device includes a network physical
transmission unit, a power connecting part and a backup power
supply module. The network physical transmission unit is operated
at a user terminal according to a fiber to the home (FTTH)
technology or a fiber to the building (FTTB) technology. The power
connecting part is in communication with an external power source
for receiving electricity from the external power source to operate
the network device. If the electricity transmitted from the
external power source to the network device is interrupted, the
backup power supply provides backup electricity to the network
device to maintain normal operation of the network device.
Inventors: |
CHEN; YU-HSIN; (Keelung
City, TW) ; Yang; Wei-Ping; (Taoyuan County,
TW) |
Assignee: |
Connection Technology Systems
Inc.
Taipei Hsien
TW
|
Family ID: |
44475170 |
Appl. No.: |
12/760301 |
Filed: |
April 14, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
398/45 ;
398/135 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H02J 9/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
398/45 ;
398/135 |
International
Class: |
H04J 14/00 20060101
H04J014/00; H04B 10/00 20060101 H04B010/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 26, 2010 |
TW |
099203538 |
Claims
1. A network device with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
function, said network device comprising: a network physical
transmission unit comprising an optical communication port and a
communication connecting port, wherein said network device receives
or transmits an optical communication signal through said optical
communication port, and receives or transmits a data packet through
said communication connecting port; a power connecting part in
communication with an external power source, wherein electricity
from said external power source is received by said power
connecting part to operate said network device; and a backup power
supply module for providing backup electricity to said network
device if said electricity transmitted from said external power
source to said network device is interrupted.
2. The network device with an uninterruptible power supply function
according to claim 1 wherein said network physical transmission
unit is an optical fiber communication equipment converter, which
comprises: a circuit board; and an opto-electronic converting
element disposed on said circuit board for converting said optical
communication signal into an electronic communication signal, or
converting said electronic communication signal into said optical
communication signal.
3. The network device with an uninterruptible power supply function
according to claim 2 wherein said optical fiber communication
equipment converter is operated at a user terminal according to a
fiber to the home (FTTH) technology.
4. The network device with an uninterruptible power supply function
according to claim 2 wherein said optical fiber communication
equipment converter is operated at a user terminal according to a
fiber to the building (FTTB) technology.
5. The network device with an uninterruptible power supply function
according to claim 2 wherein said optical fiber communication
equipment converter is operated at a user terminal for implementing
voice communication.
6. The network device with an uninterruptible power supply function
according to claim 5 wherein said optical fiber communication
equipment converter further comprises a VoIP (Voice over Internet
Protocol) phone chip, which is disposed on said circuit board for
converting a voice signal into said data packet, or converting said
data packet into said voice signal.
7. The network device with an uninterruptible power supply function
according to claim 6 wherein said network physical transmission
unit further comprises a telephone connecting port, which is
connected with a telephone.
8. The network device with an uninterruptible power supply function
according to claim 1 wherein said network device further comprises
a network management module for detecting electricity information
of said backup power supply module and providing said electricity
information to said user terminal.
9. The network device with an uninterruptible power supply function
according to claim 1 wherein said network physical transmission
unit is a hub, a switch, an IP sharer or a router.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a network device, and more
particularly to a network device with an uninterruptible power
supply function.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] With increasing development of information industries and
rapid growth of high-tech industries, network communication
technologies become prevailing. The network communication
technologies may facilitate people to communicate with each other
more efficiently and free people from the limitation of space and
time. By the technology and environment of network communication,
multimedia information (e.g. texts, sound, pictures and images)
could be transmitted in an interactive manner. Recently, the
optical communication system gradually replaces the electronic
communication system in order to increase the communicating speed
and quality of Internet. Optical fiber is the most common data
transmitting medium of the optical communication system because it
advantageous for low loss, high bandwidth, no potential
electromagnetic interference problem, light in weight, and good
security. As such, the optical fiber communication system has
experienced great growth and is now rapidly gaining in
popularity.
[0003] A fiber to the building (FTTB) architecture using telephone
cables (e.g. UTP cables) is widely used in a community building.
FIG. 1 is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating a fiber
to the building (FTTB) architecture of a community building
according to the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, the community
building 1 comprises a plurality of user terminals 11. Each of the
user terminals 11 comprises one or more computers 111. These
computers 111 are in communication with a network device 112. The
network device 112 is for example a hub, a switch or an IP sharer.
The network device 112 is powered by a power source 113. The
network device 112 is in communication with a network switch 13
through a telephone cable 12. The network switch 13 is installed
within the community building 1 by an optical line termination 2
(i.e. a network communication service provider). Through an optical
fiber 21, the network switch 13 is in communication with the
network equipment of an optical line termination 2 at the network
communication service provider side. The network equipment of the
optical line termination 2 is in communication with an internet 3
through the optical fiber 21.
[0004] By the above FTTB architecture, a data packet could be
transmitted from the computer 111 of the user terminal 11 to the
internet 3, or the data packet could be transmitted from the
internet 3 to the computer 111 of the user terminal 11. By
utilizing the high-speed transmitting performance of the optical
fiber 21, the data packets could be transmitted to the network
switch 13, which is installed within the community building 1 by
the optical line termination 2. The data packets are then
distributed from the network switch 13 to the user terminals 11 of
the community building 1 through the existing telephone cable 12.
As such, the network transmission speed of each user terminal 11 is
enhanced.
[0005] Since the network device 112 of each user terminal 11 is
powered by the power source 113 that is provided by a power
company, if the electricity provided by the power source 113 is
subject to a sudden variation or interruption, the networking
resource fails to be normally provided and a data damage problem is
possibly incurred. In other words, the FTTB architecture is not
user-friendly to the user terminal 11.
[0006] Some relevant literatures have been disclosed as
follows.
[0007] For example, Taiwanese Invention Patent No. 248567 disclosed
an uninterruptible power supply apparatus with a network hub
function. A network adapting module with a network hub function is
employed to issue the status information associated with the
uninterruptible power supply to the remote monitoring host, thereby
monitoring the uninterruptible power supply in real time. Since the
electricity of the uninterruptible power supply is mainly provided
to an external load rather than the network adapting module, if the
network adapting module is powered off, the communication with the
network is interrupted.
[0008] In addition, Chinese Invention Patent Publication No.
1327326 disclosed a smart control method for providing electricity
to the smart user terminals and implementing network management by
using network equipment integrating a charging device, a power
system management module, a communication module and a smart
module. Although the network equipment can provide stable power to
the smart user terminals to prevent the sudden power failure from
interrupting the networking tasks, there are still some drawbacks.
For example, when one of the smart user terminals intends to
perform networking communication with other user terminals through
the individual network device, if the electricity to the individual
network device is interrupted, the individual network device fails
to successfully perform networking communication.
[0009] In addition, Taiwanese Utility Patent No. 523217 disclosed
an uninterruptible power supply apparatus with a communication
function. In addition to the uninterruptible power supply function,
this uninterruptible power supply apparatus also has a
communication operating function of processing audio, faxing and
data signals. Since the uninterruptible power supply apparatus with
a communication function is a electronic communication system and
the network terminal is connected by using a RJ45 connector as
network connecting port, the communication function of this
uninterruptible power supply apparatus fails to be applied to a new
generation optical communication system (e.g. an optical fiber
network).
[0010] From the above discussions, some drawbacks are encountered
from the conventional uninterruptible power supply system with the
network device and need to be obviated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention relates to a network device applied to
a fiber to the home (FTTH) technology or a fiber to the building
(FTTB) technology.
[0012] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a network device with an uninterruptible power supply
(UPS) function. The network device includes a network physical
transmission unit, a power connecting part and a backup power
supply module. The network physical transmission unit includes an
optical communication port and a communication connecting port. The
network device receives or transmits an optical communication
signal through the optical communication port, and receives or
transmits a data packet through the communication connecting port.
The power connecting part is in communication with an external
power source, wherein electricity from the external power source is
received by the power connecting part to operate the network
device. The backup power supply module is used for providing backup
electricity to the network device if the electricity transmitted
from the external power source to the network device is
interrupted.
[0013] In an embodiment, the network physical transmission unit is
an optical fiber communication equipment converter. The optical
fiber communication equipment converter includes a circuit board
and an opto-electronic converting element. The opto-electronic
converting element is disposed on the circuit board for converting
the optical communication signal into an electronic communication
signal, or converting the electronic communication signal into the
optical communication signal.
[0014] In an embodiment, the optical fiber communication equipment
converter is operated at a user terminal according to a fiber to
the home (FTTH) technology.
[0015] In an embodiment, the optical fiber communication equipment
converter is operated at a user terminal according to a fiber to
the building (FTTB) technology.
[0016] In an embodiment, the optical fiber communication equipment
converter is operated at a user terminal for implementing voice
communication.
[0017] In an embodiment, the optical fiber communication equipment
converter further comprises a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
phone chip. The VoIP phone chip is disposed on the circuit board
for converting a voice signal into the data packet, or converting
the data packet into the voice signal.
[0018] In an embodiment, the network physical transmission unit
further includes a telephone connecting port, which is connected
with a telephone.
[0019] In an embodiment, the network device further includes a
network management module for detecting electricity information of
the backup power supply module and providing the electricity
information to the user terminal.
[0020] In an embodiment, the network physical transmission unit is
a hub, a switch, an IP sharer or a router.
[0021] The above objects and advantages of the present invention
will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in
the art after reviewing the following detailed description and
accompanying drawings, in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] FIG. 1 is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating
a fiber to the building (FTTB) architecture of a community building
according to the prior art;
[0023] FIG. 2 is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating
a network device according to an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0024] FIG. 3 is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating
an exemplary network device of FIG. 2, in which the detailed
configurations of the network physical transmission unit are shown;
and
[0025] FIG. 4 is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating
an exemplary network device of FIG. 2, in which the detailed
configurations of the backup power supply module are shown.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0026] FIG. 2 is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating
a network device according to an embodiment of the present
invention. The network device 4 is disposed in a use space (e.g.
home or office) of a user terminal. A first end of the network
device 4 is in communication with an electronic device 5 at the
user terminal. A second end of the network device 4 is in
communication with the network equipment of an optical line
termination 6 or a network switch 7. The network switch 7 is
installed within a community building by the optical line
termination 6 (i.e. a network communication service provider). The
data packets could be transmitted from the electronic device 5 at
the user terminal to the network equipment of the optical line
termination 6. Alternatively, the data packets could be transmitted
from the network equipment of the optical line termination 6 to the
electronic device 5 at the user terminal.
[0027] The network device 4 comprises a network physical
transmission unit 41, a backup power supply module 42, a power
connecting part 43 and a network management module 44. The power
connecting part 43 is in communication with an external power
source 8 for receiving electricity from the external power source
8. The electricity provided by the external power source 8 is used
for operating the network device 4. In a case that the electricity
provided by the external power source 8 is subject to a sudden
variation or interruption, the backup power supply module 42
provides backup electricity required for operating the network
device 4. As such, the network device 4 could be normally
operated.
[0028] In addition, the network management module 44 is used for
detecting electricity information of the backup power supply module
42. The electricity information is an important reference for the
user at the user terminal. According to the electricity
information, the user at the user terminal could realize the
duration of operating the network device 4 if no electricity is
provided by the external power source 8.
[0029] FIG. 3 is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating
an exemplary network device of FIG. 2, in which the detailed
configurations of the network physical transmission unit are shown.
In this embodiment, the network physical transmission unit 41 is an
optical fiber communication equipment converter such as a hub, a
switch, an IP sharer or a router. As shown in FIG. 3, the network
physical transmission unit 41 comprises an optical communication
port 411, an electric communication port 412, plural communication
connecting ports 413, a telephone connecting port 414, an
optical-electrical converting element 415, a VoIP (Voice over
Internet Protocol) phone chip 416 and a circuit board 417.
[0030] The opto-electronic converting element 415 and the VoIP
phone chip 416 are disposed on the circuit board 417. The
opto-electronic converting element 415 is used for converting an
optical communication signal into an electronic communication
signal, or converting the electronic communication signal into the
optical communication signal. The VoIP phone chip 416 is used for
converting a voice signal into a data packet in an electronic
communication form, or converting the data packet in the electronic
communication form into the voice signal.
[0031] In this embodiment, the communication connecting ports 413
are connected with respective computers 51 at the user terminal.
Alternatively, the communication connecting port 413 could be
connected with an IP Phone. The telephone connecting port 414 is
connected with a telephone 52 at the user terminal. An example of
the telephone 52 is an ordinary indoor telephone.
[0032] Hereinafter, two approaches of connecting the user terminal
and the optical line termination 6 through the network physical
transmission unit 41 of the network device 4 according to the
present invention will be illustrated with reference to FIG. 3. It
is noted that, however, those skilled in the art will readily
observe that numerous modifications and alterations may be made
while retaining the teachings of the invention.
[0033] In a first connecting approach, the optical communication
port 411 is directly in communication with the network equipment of
the optical line termination 6 through an optical fiber 61. This
approach can be referred as a fiber to the home (FTTH) technology.
Through the optical communication port 411, an optical
communication signal from the network equipment of the optical line
termination 6 is received by the network physical transmission unit
41, and then the optical communication signal is transmitted to the
opto-electronic converting element 415. Alternatively, an optical
communication signal is transmitted from the opto-electronic
converting element 415 to the optical communication port 411, and
then transmitted to the network equipment of the optical line
termination 6. As such, the data packets in an electronic
communication form could be transmitted from the computers 51 at
the user terminal to the network physical transmission unit 41
through the communication connecting ports 413, then the data
packets in the electronic communication form are converted into
data packets in an optical communication form by the
opto-electronic converting element 415, and finally the data
packets in the optical communication form are transmitted to the
network equipment of the optical line termination 6 through the
optical communication port 411 and the optical fiber 61.
[0034] On the other hand, the data packets in the optical
communication form could be transmitted from the network equipment
of the optical line termination 6 to the network physical
transmission unit 41 through the optical fiber 61 and the optical
communication port 411, then the data packets in the optical
communication form are converted into the data packets in the
electronic communication form by the opto-electronic converting
element 415, and finally the data packets in the electronic
communication form are transmitted to the computers 51 at the user
terminal through the communication connecting ports 413.
[0035] In a second connecting approach, the electric communication
port 412 is in communication with the network switch 7 through a
telephone cable 62, and then the network switch 7 (which is
installed within the community building by the optical line
termination 6) is in communication with the network equipment of
the optical line termination 6 through an optical fiber 61. This
approach can be referred as a fiber to the building (FTTB)
technology. Through the electric communication port 412, an
electronic communication signal from the network switch 7 is
received by the network physical transmission unit 41, and then the
electronic communication signal is transmitted to the circuit board
417. Alternatively, the electronic communication signal from the
circuit board 417 is received by the electric communication port
412, and then transmitted from the electric communication port 412
to the network switch 7. The data packets to be transmitted between
the user terminal and the network switch 7 are both in the
electronic communication form.
[0036] In other words, when a user at the user terminal intends to
communicate with another user at the Internet side through the
telephone 52 connected with the network physical transmission unit
41, the voice signal is firstly transmitted to the network physical
transmission unit 41 through the telephone connecting port 414.
Then, the voice signal is converted into the data packet in the
electronic communication form by the VoIP phone chip 416.
Afterwards, the voice signal of the user at the user terminal is
transmitted to another user by the first connecting approach or the
second connecting approach described above. Similarly, the voice
signal of another user at the Internet side may be transmitted to
the user at the user terminal in the same manner, so that the
purpose of communication via voice is achieved.
[0037] Hereinafter, the key features of the present invention will
be illustrated with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a schematic
functional block diagram illustrating an exemplary network device
of FIG. 2, in which the detailed configurations of the backup power
supply module are shown. As shown in FIG. 4, the backup power
supply module 42 comprises a charger 421 and a battery set 422. In
a case that electricity provided by the external power source 8 to
the network device 4 is normal, the charger 421 also receives the
electricity provided by the external power source 8 to charge the
battery set 422, so that the battery set 422 is in an electricity
saturation status. Whereas, in a case that the external power
source 8 fails to normally provide the electricity, the battery set
422 will immediately provide backup electricity to the network
physical transmission unit 41.
[0038] Therefore, before the electricity quantity stored in the
battery set 422 is exhausted, the user at the user terminal may
take emergency measures to operating tasks at hand, such as data
storing. At the same time, the network management module 44 may
detect the electricity quantity stored in the battery set 422, and
transmit the information associated with the electricity quantity
to the user at the user terminal. According to the information
associated with the electricity quantity, the user at the user
terminal could take measures. For example, while the user at the
user terminal uses an IP phone to perform voice communication, the
user may adjust the talking period according to the importance of
talking contents.
[0039] In the above embodiments, the function of the backup power
supply module 42 is exhibited if the electricity provided by the
external power source 8 is subject to a sudden variation or
interruption. It is noted that, however, those skilled in the art
will readily observe that, if the power quality is reduced because
of surge, sharp wave, noise, power sag or high (low) voltage
transient, the backup power supply module 42 can automatically
stabilize the voltage. In this situation, stable and reliable
electricity will be continuously received by the network
device.
[0040] While the invention has been described in terms of what is
presently considered to be the most practical and preferred
embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be
limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is
intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements
included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which
are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to
encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
* * * * *